Chapter Text
Shit! She’d been careless.
She had taken a nap up in a tree thinking it would be fine only to avoid the path of any wandering monsters. She did not expect to be ambushed by a cat.
He’s a big, gray guy; obviously some kind of bounty hunter by the look of his get up. He’s only got one large sword so he’s probably out here to hunt monsters. It’s really not a practical weapon against anything her size.
He’d tried to sneak up on her. Really, did he think it was going to work? She’d heard his claws hit the bark well before she felt the tree swaying and the vibrations from his clunky movements. More of a ground-cat, this guy, and not much of a schemer. Though, to his credit he’d recovered well from getting kicked in the face and out of the tree. Plus he had been able to draw that silly, unwieldy blade in time to block her follow up attack aimed at his neck. They’d been trading blows ever since. Well, he had to be of some caliber to make it this far out here.
She slides the hilt of her dagger down the blade of his sword as she steps closer then slips around him easily to kick at the back of his knees. Amelia smiles as the cat falls into a clumsy forward roll and jumps back to his feet some distance ahead. His tail whips side to side in frustration.
“How the hell did you fuck up, dumbass?” Yells a sharp voice from the opposite tree-line. Oh, Gray here has a friend. “Come on, just knock her out or something!”
“Shut up, she’s tougher than she looks.” Gray says calmly, not taking his eyes off of Amelia. “If you don’t like how long it’s taking, maybe you could participate.” He’s hesitating. It looks like he wants to get rid of his sword. He knows it’s hindering him but it’s also saving his life. He keeps it. Smart move.
“No fuckin’ way, you’ll damage the goods!” His friend yells back. “I told you how much money she’s gonna make us!”
Amelia’s tail twitches and her jaw sets. Her ears flatten a bit. Right. Living alone with Mattie gives her a lot of freedoms. Sometimes she forgets about the state of things in the rest of the world. Females are in increasingly short supply and some cats are scumbags.
“I don't like your friend.” Amelia says to Gray, flatly.
“I don’t either,” He says grimacing, “but he has a point.” He springs forward to resume the fight.
They trade a few more blows. Honestly this isn’t too bad. It’s been a while since Amelia’s had the chance to have a good, old fashioned duel. And while Gray here isn’t exactly a push-over, she’s got the advantage. She trips him up again and nearly gets his leg in the gushy place high on his thigh before he jumps away, ears back and properly cowed.
“FUCK!” He checks his wound and lets out a heavy, relieved breath to discover he’s only been nicked. “SING you shitty bard!! What the hell are you even here for!?”
Wait… bard?
“Fine, fine! Gettin’ your tail kicked by a little molly… Some fighter you are. Don’t you dare even scratch her!” the other cat, apparently a bard, grumbles as he grips a flute in his hands and raises it to his mouth.
Ah shit. This could be bad. They don't look like a pair that would be synced all that well, but even a bad pair can be enough to change things for the worse. Amelia rushes at Gray, hoping to end things before the bard has a chance to—
The change is immediate, though. The moment the thin, fluttering notes of the bard’s flute begin, Gray sheathes his sword and flexes his clawed fingers. Ugh. This is the first sign of a smirk she’s seen on him yet and it’s really annoying.
He catches her wrists. Alright. The bard’s Song has enhanced his reflexes. How about this, then? She uses his grip on her as leverage to twist her body up and wrap one leg around his neck.
“What the—” Amelia begins to squeeze his neck between her thigh and calf and his words choke off.
“You were probably better off with the sword, buddy.” Amelia says. “I’m not mad that you guys are underestimating me, though.” Well, that’s a lie. She is a little bit. Gray grunts as he chokes and finally lets her wrists go.
Amelia kicks off of his chest immediately, but Gray catches her by her ankle. Shit…
— Meanwhile —
Shit. Shit. Shit. Its a fighter and bard pair. Matthew can see the skirmish through the thinning trees and his heart beats a bit louder.
They don’t look especially overpowering, and if he were in his right mind he’d be more reasonable. Think the situation through and come up with a plan, knowing Amelia can hold her own.
But he’s not in is right mind. All he can see is two invading tom-cats, one with his hands on his sister.
Before he can really stop to think about what he’s doing, he’s grabbed a sturdy, crooked branch from the forest floor and is rushing at the fighter’s blind spot. The bard makes a startled noise from somewhere to his right and the fighter begins to turn to see what’s wrong but Matthew is already on him. He brings his branch down with a CRACK over the fighter’s head and he’s out.
Matthew looks to Amelia where she’d landed to make sure she’s ok. She looks fine, but gives him a confused look for only a moment before she winces and jerks her head toward the retreating cat.
“Mattie! Bard!” She yells and she’s already pulling her harmonica out. Oh shit, right. Matthew turns and sprints toward the bard who is already well into the forest, making his escape. Ugh, he messed this up. If he gets away, their territory, home, and Amelia’s cover will be blown. But with the Void so close, does it even matter?
Despite the burst of speed Amelia’s Song had given him, the bard manages to escape. Matthew stops and runs a hand through his hair nervously as he catches his breath. First the Void, now this?
—
“Mattie?” Amelia sees him alone up ahead as she catches up. Looks like the bard got away, then. Mattie is hunched forward and giving off some really tense vibes.
“Hey Mattie, you ok?” She approaches him and tousles his hair lightly “It’s not too late, you know. He’ll run out of stamina before he’s out of our territory and we can track him down.”
Mattie sighs heavily and stands up straight. He looks worried. Ok, he often looks worried, especially these days, but it seems more pressing this time. He raises his hand so she can see it. She smells the tang of blood on the air and notices that it’s bandaged. That itself is nothing special but Mattie is looking at her like it means something.
“Bro? Hey.” She says. “What’s up? What are you freaking out about?”
“Void.” He says finally. Looking away from her to his injured hand. Oh. Something heavy places itself in her stomach. She knew, or she’d been told anyway, that it was only a matter of time but…
“Where? How close?” Amelia asks urgently.
“North side. Too close.” He replies. He looks back at her again. “Em, we need to get out of here. Food is scarce to begin with, and now all this.” He gestures around at the forest, attempting to indicate the situation.
Amelia is silent for a moment, letting it sink in. He’s not wrong and its not like they haven’t been expecting this to happen eventually. To be honest, she’s not sure she can survive another winter with the way things are and they have been worried about travel routes closing off. The two trespassers today are kind of a relief in that light.
“Plus, with the Void so close, I don't want to risk you getting sick.” Mattie says. Oh jeez, he actually sounds scared.
During one of his visits years ago, Gilbert had told them that the same curse that caused the Void causes a Sickness. An awful affliction that leaves cats in agonizing pain and missing body parts. They don't even rot off or anything, they just disappear into nothingness. Females die from it at nearly quadruple the rate of males. Gilbert warned them that if the Void showed up anywhere near them they needed to leave immediately. The chances of Amelia getting sick would skyrocket.
“Alright, alright.” She says as soothingly as she can muster. It’s not much, really, so she hugs her twin brother around the middle. He sighs. “Lets go home and figure it out.”